Sizing up infant clothing

Here's a photo of my Lindsay when she was crawling (probably 9 months old or so). She's wearing an outfit that buttons at the bottom, which meant it didn't ride up and show her belly while she crawled.

My younger sister had a baby in May, and she recently mentioned in her baby’s blog that her baby (now 4 ½ months old) is already wearing 6-month-size outfits. I want to assure her that baby Ivy is perfectly normal.
I have four years of experience working in children’s clothing store and can’t resist sharing my knowledge.
So here is

My Infant Clothing Size Primer.
Children’s sizes work something like this: In infant sizes (3 months up to 24 months), babies generally wear the clothes size that is twice the child’s actual age. So, the average 4-month-old wears a 6- to 9-month-old outfit; the average 6-month-old wears a 12 month size; a 9-month-old wears an 18 month size and so on. Between 12 months and 18 months, most babies are wearing 24 month size clothes.
A 24 month size and a 2T are generally about the same size as each other.

However, the infant sizes and the toddler sizes (2T-4 or 5T) are usually different styles, allowing for the differences between a baby and a toddler.

Infant clothes are generally one-piece outfits rather than two-piece. The one-piece design keeps the clothes from riding up when the baby is being carried or is crawling on the floor. Around 12 months (of course, it’s a couple months earlier for some babies, and a few months later for others), babies start to walk. At that point, they are able to wear separates easier – a shirt and a pair of pants for example. You don’t have to worry about the clothes riding up, thus, clothes in the toddler sizes are usually two piece outfits rather than one piece.
So there, in a nutshell, are the basics of infant clothing sizes.

McDonald's Happy Meal toys: The great quest

Ah, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. Sometimes I’m like a kid and get into the quest for a certain McD’s toy.
But mostly I curse them. Usually the toys are characters my kids don’t like and the toys end up lying around the house until I toss them away.
But a few weeks ago, Lindsay and I were on a mission. I took her to McD’s as a special treat when Don and Skyler were out of town. The girl toys were cute, detailed little Madame Alexander dolls. Lindsay looked at the dolls in the display case and decided she wanted the Cinderella doll. But of course, when she looked in her Happy Meal bag, that’s not the doll she got.
Two days later she wanted McD’s again. I didn’t want McD’s, but I knew she really wanted the Cinderella doll and darn it if I don’t want to fulfill her wishes if possible. So I stopped and got her a Happy Meal (and we took it home so I could heat something up for myself). Again, no Cinderella doll. Not even when we asked if they had one.
A week or so ago Don got her a Happy Meal. Again, no Cinderella doll.
Now I wasn’t going to go all crazy like over getting her the doll, like I did several years ago when my son was young and we wanted the West Highland terrier Artlist Collection McD’s toy. For the month or so that they had the promotion, he and I (and me by myself) bought and ate many Happy Meals. We ended up with a bunch of Labradors and golden retrievers – which are still all over the house because they’re way too cute to toss out. We finally ended up getting the Westie about a year later, when we ordered Happy Meals and were surprised to find a Westie in each of the bags. I guess they just had it lying around?
Anyway, yesterday, Lindsay and I ended up at McD’s again. I immediately went into “Quest for Cinderella mode” and asked if they had any Cinderella dolls left. (They didn’t).
But Lindsay didn’t seem to care. She was perfectly happy with the Strawberry Shortcake doll that came with the meal, and she didn’t mention Cinderella once. And even more importantly, she didn’t look at the display of Strawberry Shortcake dolls and decide that she had to have one of them. Maybe we can eat somewhere besides McD’s for a while.

Band night!

Last night was band night at Fort Zumwalt East High School. Skyler's middle school band got to play with the high school band during the half-time show at the football game.

We had such a great time! I loved watching the cheerleaders and dancers do their routines, and it was fun to get into the spirit and excitement of the game (which our team won, 40-18!).

Lindsay had a fun time dancing around and cheering too -- although she was ready to go home and go to bed after the half-time show was over.

Skyler and the bands did a wonderful job. Skyler was the first person to march onto the field in his row, and he led them on a straight path to their mark.